Pablo Acosta Villarreal, commonly referred to as El Zorro de Ojinaga ("The Ojinaga Fox") was a Mexicannarcotics smuggler who controlled crime along a two-hundred mile stretch of U.S.-Mexico border. At the height of his power, he was smuggling 60 tons of cocaine per year for the Colombians —in addition to the incalculable amounts of marijuana and heroin that were the mainstay of his business. He was the mentor and business partner of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the so-called 'Lord of the Skies', who took over after Acosta's death.[1][2]

He made his operation base in the once little dusty border town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico, and had his greatest power in the period around 1984-1986. Through a protection scheme with Mexican federal and state police agencies and with the Mexican army, Acosta was able to ensure the security for five tons of cocaine being flown by turboprop aircraft every month from Colombia to Ojinaga —sometimes landing at the municipal airport, sometimes at dirt airstrips on ranches upriver from Ojinaga.[3]

Chains of luxurious restaurants and hotels laundered his drug money. While at first he only managed marijuana and heroin, Acosta Villarreal became increasingly involved in the cocaine trade near the end of his life. He established contacts with Colombians who wanted to smuggle cocaine into the United States using the same routes to Texas Acosta Villarreal was using to ship marijuana and heroin from across the border in Chihuahua.[2]

Acosta Villarreal was killed in April 1987, as detailed in the documentary film American Federale, during a cross-border raid by Mexican Federal Police helicopters and assisted by the FBI in the Rio Grande village of Santa Elena, Chihuahua.[4]Rafael Aguilar Guajardo took Acosta's place but he was killed soon after by Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who took control of the organization. The book Drug Lord by investigative journalist Terrance Poppa, chronicles the rise and fall of Acosta Villarreal through direct interviews he did with this drug lord.

There is a popular rumor in Mexico that states that he was an informant for the US government on communism and guerrilla movements near the Mexico-US border.[5] As narrated by the famous Mexican-folk (norteño) group Los Tigres del Norte, in the drug-ballad (narco-corrido) called "El Zorro de Ojinaga", written by Paulino Vargas,[6] that narrates some of the exploits of Acosta Villarreal.

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal group based in Sinaloa. Before assuming leadership of the entire cartel, he served as the logistical coordinator for the Zambada-García faction of the Sinaloa Cartel which has assisted in the exporting of cocaine and heroin into Chicago and other US cities by train, ship, jet, and narco-submarines.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes

Amado Carrillo Fuentes was a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "El Señor de Los Cielos", because of the large fleet of jets he used to transport drugs. He was also known for laundering money via Colombia, to finance fleet.

Juan José Esparragoza Moreno

Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, commonly referred to by his alias El Azul, is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. Originally a member of the Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) police agency, he founded the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s along with other drug kingpins in Mexico. Following its disintegration in the late 1980s, he went on to lead the Juárez Cartel and eventually settled in the Sinaloa Cartel. He worked alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, once considered Mexico's most-wanted drug lord.

Narco-submarine

A narco-submarine is a type of custom-made ocean-going self-propelled submersible vessel built by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs. They are especially known to be used by Colombian drug cartel members to export cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, which is often then transported overland to the United States.

Fausto Isidro Meza Flores

Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, commonly referred to by his criminal alias El Chapo Isidro, is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He is also the alleged leader of Los Mazatlecos and was right-hand man of the now deceased drug lord Héctor and the incarcerated Alfredo Beltrán Leyva. The FBI is offering a USD $5 million bounty.

Óscar Malherbe de León

Óscar Malherbe de León is an Mexican imprisoned drug lord and former high-ranking leader of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas. He was the main intermediary of the Gulf Cartel in Colombia, responsible for shipping large sums of cocaine from the Cali Cartel in the 1990s. Before becoming a drug trafficker, Malherbe worked as a shoeshiner and car washer. He then turned to the auto theft industry and was recruited in 1976 by Casimiro Espinoza Campos, a former leader of a cell within the Gulf Cartel. By age 22, the Mexican authorities had charged Malherbe with at least 10 homicides. In 1984, his boss was killed by the then-leader of the Gulf Cartel, Juan García Ábrego, who later appointed him as one of his top lieutenants and moneymen.

Narcos

Narcos is an American crime drama web television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro.

Narcos (season 3)

The third season of Narcos, an American crime thriller drama web television series produced and created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, follows the story of the Cali Cartel.

Narcos: Mexico

Narcos: Mexico is an American crime drama web television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro that premiered on Netflix on November 16, 2018. It was originally intended to be the fourth season of the Netflix series Narcos, but it was ultimately developed as a companion series. It focuses on the illegal drug trade in Mexico, whereas the parent series centered on the illegal drug trade in Colombia. On December 5, 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.